Rep. Mary Sattler-Peltola, D-Alaska, on Monday announced her candidacy for re-election as Alaska’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives, while calling for unity in Alaska and bipartisanship in Congress.
“I’m running for re-election because it’s no longer just enough to put Alaska first. We need to work together to move Alaska forward,” she said. “Our state thrives when its diverse communities and interests collaborate for a shared vision and a unified future.”
“My message is simple: Alaska has stood on the shoulders of giants like Ted Stevens, Don Young, and Frank Murkowski, and it is thanks to their legacies that we have gotten to where we are today,” she said in a statement.
In November of 2022, Peltola won a hotly contested runoff election to fill the seat vacated by the sudden death of Rep. Don Young, who served in Congress for 49 years, a total of 25 terms, before passing away on a flight home to Alaska with his wife, Anne Young. Young was well known for securing millions of dollars in pork-barrel legislation for Alaska. He was the longest serving Republican in the House.
Peltola became the first woman and the first Alaska Native person to represent Alaska in Congress, beating former GOP governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Republican Nick Begich.
She pledged to advocate for bipartisan decision-making across the political aisle to ensure the voices of all Alaskans are represented.
“But now, we are on the verge of building for the future, and what we need to get there is a voice that is willing to work with anyone, regardless of party, to deliver for our state. Alaska only works when it works together,” she said. “Whether it was securing the Willow project and the largest investment in a renewable energy grid in American history, placing a ban on Russian trawling, or fighting for women’s right to choose, we need a unified voice for us in Washington D.C.”
